[Music Review] Brandy’s Two Eleven

[Sigh!] Where do I begin and end with this album review, hold on tight to your seats. This captain is pissed.

I've been looking forward to Brandy's album return. There are not enough adjectives in the Oxford dictionary to describe the atrocity and all kinds of fail that is this album. Folks, I'm not soft with my reviews, sorry to grate your nerves. I believe in writing a review free of bias, and unadulterated in opinion. When I asked Kai for hers she did not hesitate to state, "It is not worth bootlegging. It is the kind of album one doesn't care if it leaks before release date, because it is just yeah....."[loss of words]. She even called Jesus, then summoned Him back immediately to His seat in glory, for His help could not restore her faith in this album. Woah!

Intro Oi. It hurts to listen. Kai asks, “why is there a robot as an opener?” It did not set the mood, if anything it set the ball rolling for lots question about production. It sounded like a droid commercial [OUCH!]. My question is, why was Sean Garrett lying to Brandy, this was that kind of banger that would make us lose our minds? Absolutely horrendous! It is such a turn off…and does nothing for the transition.

Wildest DreamsIn this song, Brandy is amazed by the amount of love she is receiving from her boo, even going as far as questioning God why she is deserving of this blessing. [Kai] Thought they [producers] were trying to capture a 90s feel but, it’s missing her, or what we used to like in her. She used to have honey like harmonies, during the verses, you’d hear the harmonies. But the song comes up empty, emotionless, and unfinished. There was a positive turn though, it has a catchy hook. [Ms. EY’s reaction] Oh Jesus!

So Sick-Is a follow up of her wildest dreams. She is so full of love that she is overwhelmed. Her signature harmonies, make a debut in this single, but are not strong enough to hold our attention for long. The hook makes up for it, yet again.

The transition to Slower was really dope. Ya’ll remember she was feeling overwhelmed? Now, she suggests that they take it slow instead, which I think is great advice. Word to the wise, ‘Hurry hurry has no blessings’.

No Such Thing As Too Late [Kai] It is a 90s influenced groovy song! We both agree, it is the best song on the album. In it she sultry sings there is no need to rush love, because love is always there or something along those lines. Here, we can see that in terms of production and content, the aliens that had abducted her prior were paid their ransom, and she was released to us. She is basically free to give us Brandy vocals without unnecessary vocal corrections, effects, and tribulations for our ears.

Let Me Go: Because of the numerous effects on this song, we had to strain our ears to hear the words. As Kai described the bullshiggidy it was noisy, very messy, off balance and just overall a turn off. The theme, however, is still held on, as she still wants to take it slow but she doesn’t want to end things. Our research revealed that this track interpolates [refers to an abrupt change in musical element from the main theme] Tonight by Swedish pop singer, Lykke Li. So Kai’s qustion was why did they intertwine a pop song with an RnB song, that are so far apart in every thinkabale way. The results, plainly put by Ms. Ey, are disastrous!

Without YouIt seems to us that they have parted ways with her boo thang, in this song. But, she is still very fond of him as evidenced by her constant reiteration of her need for him. This is another signature Brandy cut, produced by Harmony Samuels.

Put It Down [feat Chris Brown]: It is a lively song, danceable to, but it doesn’t make my heart bubble, at all. Kai asserted that this song, it only made it to the RnB top 10 because of CBreeezy’s presence, Ouch!!

Hardly Breathing: She is heartbroken. Thankfully, this is an old school joint that is heartfelt, and sincere in emotion. Kai, wanted to reach out and hug her. This was the song she connected the most emotionally.

Do You Know What You Have: [This was a waste of album space]

Scared of Beautiful: This song was chosen haphazardly to appear on this album. It is hard to interpret, and sounds a bit too intense for this album. Oh my gosh, tired of typing……it’s that bad, not the song, the album.

Wish Your Love Away That song samples a Japanese song by Ryuichi Sakamoto. In this spot she did not care so much. It’s a noisy, very but nonetheless, a good song. Brandy’s voice is drowned out, and I literally had to strain to listen.

Paint This House At this point, I’m tired, I tuned out….somebody help us! Call the doctor is ova!

Conclusion

In terms of production, Sean Garret killed Brandy on this album, like completely put her six feet under. Fans, myself included, I’m sorry-but this album “sucks ass” to borrow the words of one of our commenters, lool!! This review is based solely on our collective thoughts. Having waited for Brandy to drop an album for a long time, I’m disappointed. She took a risk, well worth, but failed to execute. The strategy from an outsider’s perspective, was experimental in nature in a bid to keep up with the untalented youngins, who primarily rely on auto-tune and heavy instrumentation. It is great to explore different avenues and diversify one’s portfolio, but what would have been better in her case, is the employing the use of a different production team!

This team, in my opinion is better suited for the likes of Florida, Pitbull, Rihanna, David Guetta, et. al. Brandy to me is just a timeless artiste, with no need for gimmicks.

Rating: [-1 to the nth power. ]

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Track Listing

1. Intro 2. Wildest Dreams 3. So Sick 4. Slower 5. No Such Thing As Too Late 6. Let Me Go 7. Without You 8. Put It Down (feat. Chris Brown) 9. Hardly Breathing 10. Do You Know What You Have? 11. Scared of Beautiful 12. Wish Your Love Away 13. Paint This House 14. Can You Hear Me Now? 15. Music 16. What You Need 17. Nodding Off 18. Outro

[Please remain respectful in your commentary, anything but will be deleted. This is just a personal opinion.]

Word to the wise, Embrace You Magazine, Don’t EVER write another album review…EVER. You lost all credibility with this review! By the way, I had not ever heard of you before I did a search for Brandy album reviews, so I guess that’s punishment enough for your ‘suck a**’ review of Two Eleven!!

And I suppose you’re one of the founding members of the mag or are their media consultant? Exactly. Who are you and what right do you have to tell people what they shouldn’t do with their blog. Keep your unsolicited advice to yourself.

I guess everyone is entitled to their own “opinions” but this review is downright awful. No one in their right mind would neglect the showcase of talent on this album. Brandy sounds impeccable throughout. Only thing that would make sense is if you’re under the age of 20 or if you pirated a bad copy because the balance between her voice and the production is top notch. I’m not sure how you can look forward to a Brandy album and when it arrives and is VERY Brandy on top of that, you don’t like it. Its almost as if you’ve never heard anything prior to this by her. Personally, I find the album to be one of her best and in the same league as Never Say Never and Full Moon. In the long run, your review will be lost in the noise anyways since this publication/blog isn’t accredited.

Thanks for your comment. I am a fan and have heard every single album of hers! Loved every single one of them This one, no way. Ouch on accreditation. May the gods of zamunda work in our favor, and accredit us.

I have listened to the album and like the same tracks you did: No Such Thing As Too Late, Without You, and Hardly Breathing. I must say that I also agree that this album wasn’t impressive. I feel that Two Eleven went downhill compared to her previous releases. I probably wouldn’t give it a negative lol, maybe a 2 out of 5 for those three songs, but I do believe that in this point in time Brandy should be taking her music to the next level and I felt that this album was just too lackluster and displayed no sign of growth. If anything she sounded so tired and bored.

Another thing, I can understand why her stans would be upset about the review lmao Ms. EY you went in. But whatever happened to freedom of speech? Everyone has a right to express themselves freely.
People get a grip, this review is hilarious. Get the sticks out your derriere.

Stans are coming out the wood works and yo, are they snatching my weave or what! With the way things are going I’ll be left with a receding hairline, like yours truly Naomi Campbell. 2 out 5, you got jokes. LMAO!

“Brandy should be taking her music to the next level and I felt that this album was just too lackluster and displayed no sign of growth”- That is exactly how I feel, and then some!

Folks are too quick to give their beloved artistes 5 stars when they are not deserving. I’m sorry, I refuse to do so. If you are going to put out an album, go all out!

As a “reviewer” you should know a professional Review of a body of work should reflect not just opinion but tasteful opinion and this review is very distasteful and unprofessional. You don’t have to LOVE the album but have respect for the artist just as you would want someone to have respect for your site if they were to rate it’s relevance to Pop Culture and everything in between. As soon as I began reading this review, three lines deep i knew i was done not because of your disappointment with the album but because of the way you delivered it.

In any case, I love the album. Considering all the nonsense music that’s been flooding the airwaves, I go into this album with an OPEN MIND and am fully satisfied. There are tracks on here that make lean (Put It Down, Let Me Go, What You Need), tracks that make me cry (Wish Your Love Away, Scared of Beautiful) and even tracks that make me feel strong (Hardly Breathing, Do You Know, Wildest Dreams). I feel Brandy did a great job as far as GROWTH as an artist. If she wanted to “relate to the youngins” she’d be doing dance tracks with David Guetta. She delivered a solid album considering the state of R&B in 2012.

Ms.EY let’s be real now! You gave the album a -1. I think that alone is enough to show that you were a bit too personal when writing a professional review. (your website is to be considered professional right?) Read any other professional review (Washington Post, Boston Globe, etc.) you’ll notice things such as “I’ve been anticipating this album…” is NOT something that’s stated because that’s too personal for a “professional” review that is read by EVERYONE. Your website is representation of POP CULTURE so you should write reviews with the masses kept in mind, not just your opinion. Brandy’s vocal growth and delivery on this album ALONE is enough for at least ONE star. Not to mention the SUBSTANCE of the tracks. And I’m not even saying that because I like the album because I also agree that there was room for a little more, but this album definitely doesn’t deserve a -1.

It was a highly subjective opinion, which ran contrary to majority opinion, nothing personal. Our website is a blogazine, not a journalistic forum. However, I will take heed to your advice, and check out Washington Post and Boston Globe. But, I highly doubt I’ll adhere to their modus operandi.

In your opinion on a scale of 1/10, what rating would you have given it?

I’ve listened to this Cd and to my surprise I absolutely love it!! This album is all over me, and Brandys voice is so damn beautiful. Sean Garrett and her team really stepped up. I’ve already read a few reviews, but none this dramatic. Is this Tamar Braxton? I was expecting a professional indepth review, but this sounds like a bunch of queens that had a rough night.

Oh no, this ain’t miss get your review dot com, lool! Glad you enjoyed her CD!! 🙂 It was a professional opine, that’s how I like to see it, lool! I’m actually aware of the fact that the reviews have been over incredible, oh well. Different strokes, for different folks.

Based on socIal network response, this is one of Brandys best bodies of work. I am enjoying the album very much. Production is great, her vocals are ON and a majority of the album is butter. No one I know has just one copy and it’s the first day. “Wish Your Love Away” is awesome. The album is great I think this review is very harsh. People who claim to support don’t use words like “fail” so I think this is just as biased as the fan reviews.

First, thank you for commenting. Personally, it is one of her worst bodies of work, I have heard better artistery from her. Believe it or not, I’m actually a super duper fan, just one that doesn’t believe in handing gold stars just because I’m a fan of said artiste!

The reviews, thus far have actually have been stellar. Mine is probably the odd ball out, but I stand firmly by it, and I’m not shaken by majority opinion. The use of the word “fail” was not to mean her album will not sell or others won’t like it. All it means is, in my opinion this album was a fail. It won’t come as a surprise to me if she wins numerous awards as a result. If anything, I’ll be happy. But I’ll question why this album, and not the previous releases, esp. if we are talking about Grammy’s.

obviously cause she’s with “THEM” now. We all know how “those people” work, they have social media and every other media wrapped around their fingers. Not to mention charts. I wouldn’t be surprised if this sucky album made its way to the top ten, much less number one. Its what they do, for example Rihanna’s “Diamonds”. How fast was that? her charting just isn’t logical.

obviously u deleted everyones comments cos u have no taste musically no one agrees with u ur 12 and listen to rihanna shes ur queen ha!!
u obviously love florida guetta and all that techno
last time i visit this blog CRAPP!

Hello there!! Oh no, comments are only deleted when they are disrespectful. None has been thus far. My musical taste is more than impeccable, c’mon now. I love me some Brandy. I just did not care for this album, at all. What did you think of her previous album? I thought it was off the hookahiiiiizy, forshiiiiiizy. This one, meh. LMAO @ rihanna being my queen. Oi. Brandy is a great singer, but guess what, the production on this album, overshadowed all that. Oh my goodness, @ “CRAPP!” Ouch. Do you have any suggestions for improvement, we are all ears. Thanks.

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